Sergio Aguero has called on his Manchester City team-mates never to give up their ambition of making the knockout stages of the Champions League and says the Premier League champions can still beat Real Madrid and escape their group of death.

Victory over Jose Mourinho’s side and then a win away to Borussia Dortmund would give City a slim chance of progressing from Group D into the knock-out stages, but the City striker insists it is possible.

'We should never give up,' he told the Manchester City website. 'Where there’s a will, there’s a way, right? Of course, it’s harder now because we’re not just relying on ourselves but also on the other teams’ results.

Keeping the faith: Aguero celebrates scoring as City beat Aston Villa 5-0 at the weekend

'What we mustn’t do is leave the pitch with any regrets and be content knowing that we have given our all. This club deserves nothing less and our supporters deserve as much, too.’

City sit bottom of the their group with only two points after four matches, with Dortmund first with eight points and Madrid only one point behind. Aguero believes that only makes the game more significant.

'I think it’s even more significant now than if we had been in a better position in the table,' he opined.

'It may sound strange, but I firmly believe that. We must win this game. Whatever the final score-line is – a good one, I hope - we’ll show on the field that we don’t give up, like we did in the game against Ajax and in every game we’ve played. We have a great team, I have no doubt about it and now it is time for us to show just how good we are.

Struggling: City could only draw with Dortmund at the Etihad last month

'It’s always special to play against a
club like Real Madrid. Personally, my connection with Atletico Madrid
gives it an additional kick – but there’s no difference in how much I
want to win this match.

'Never defeating Real when I was with Atletico was a real regret for me – Atletico haven’t succeeded in beating them for many years - but I did get to score against them even if we never managed a win.